Buy Two figures get one free!

Toys Logic Website click here
If you have not heard, Toys logic is having a sale, buy two in stock items, get a third item of equal or lesser value for free! Items must be in stock, pre-order items do not qualify. You must check out normally and submit processing for all three items, however, the lowest priced item will be credited back to you. Sale ends tomorrow!

This is what I bought:
Tabitha
Tsukasa
Haurhi

Youtube using a new Widescreen Format

WS video
official info
Not sure if it's just a beta, but the new format is nice. If your old videos were in decent quality they appear to be preserved so you do not have to upload them again. No more of that yucky zoom, bleh!
I hear this is a response to be more competitive with Hulu and NicoDouga perhaps? Either way, anything widescreen instantly warrants my attention :)

Nintendo hacks Animal Crossing

Sort of.

In the recent game City Folk for Wii, Nintendo included a nice feature where you can adjust time on the fly. This is great, especially for me, since I have better things to do on my holidays then to log into Animal Crossing and marathon four hours straight.


However, one thing they neglected to compensate for was the online disparity. We all know the online play is pretty sad and many of us were offended with Nintendo's friend code garbage. There is no real 'City' in City folk. But what if one person was able to 'exist' at a point in time where goods are commonly available and someone else 'online' is able to coexist at the point where those same goods have become scarce and are being purchased for quadruple the original cost? Like Tom Nook says, it's all about the turnip prices, am I right?
picture from flickr

Tissue Princess

One of the great things about streaming video websites is the ability to share your talents with others. If you have not heard, one such beautiful phenomenon is our beloved Tissue Princess.

Something else that's really popular is taking all the videos posted and combining them into one. I like this one here:
Mix Video

Pic of Tissue princess taken from Konachan, original can be found on pixiv
Tissue princess videos originally on nico video

Really good Coffee

Yep, really good coffee.

I myself am not a daily coffee drinker. I tend to sleep 8hours daily so when I wake up I don't need a pep-start. I like my drinks sweet, so it's more like having a little coffee in my milk.

Normally, I detest bitter tastes; however, this coffee is 'different.' Starbucks, Seattle, Cafe du Monde, they all kind of taste like plain coffee to me. That's not a bad thing. But with illy, after having a cup, I said, "Wow, that's some good coffee."

Of course, Nagato prefers a nice dark roast. You should be able to find it in most higher end grocery stores. World Market should have it for sure. Now don't get too excited! This coffee comes at a price. A roughly fifteen dollar price. Is it worth it? You should definitely try it at least once. Remember, if you plan to use a regular drip brewer, you want the ground, not the whole beans. Also, take care not to grab the green 'decaffinated' can if you need your caffeine.

Do you approve when the voice cast changes from game to anime?

Voice casts change for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes they are legitimate. In Honey and Clover, a male voice actor was injured in an accident so a stand-in worked on a few episodes while he recovered. But sometimes I believe voice actor's change for more 'dubious' reasons. I'm sure DaCapo fans know what I'm talking about. Whether it's ethical or not, adding the name "Yui Horie" to the cast will undoubtedly increase sales. Not that she would actually appear in a visual novel, mind you.

I personally prefer to keep the same cast for the game and the anime. Please don't misunderstand, I support and approve of voice actress' who refuse to do any type of explicit adult recordings, but I also strongly feel that if someone else did accept the terms of the original character that they also should have the first offer to continue to represent that character.

It's just a minor role, but the voice actor for Kohno Taka-Aki is different in Another Days than the one who has been recording the TV series for more than a year now. Why the change? Does anyone know? This is actually a 'reverse' of what this topic is about since we are going from anime back to game, but the principal is the same.

Only Ikuno's path is voiced. What I find really amusing is that when you first start, an option pops up right away "Would you like to enter your name?" and does not automatically give you the option to play as Kohno. It feels like they are telling you, "This guy is a fake!" w...

Did you know Kotobukiya makes Glasses?

Yuma Tonami

When I first saw this figure earlier this summer I did not like it. "Why do they always give Yuma weird poses?" I thought. But then I saw this...

The maid version of Yuma came with glasses?! Why didn't any of the official box pictures state this?! Well, as it turns out, she does not come with the glasses but you can purchase them separately. The glasses come in two color packages; silver or black. You can order the black ones here.

Jyoji Resource took these pictures over the summer. When I glanced over them I did not really pay attention. Apparently he added the glasses himself. They are made by Kotobukiya and come at great prices. They should fit on most any 1/6 or 1/8 figure, just slide them in between the hair cast and the side of the face. Be sure to check Jyoji's page for some very 'nice' pics!

You can check out more pics at Akiba Blog and alter color version at Akiba Hobby.

The fun of Translation

When asked what is a translation, many people would probably reply that it is converting words from one language to another. Although this is fundamentally correct, the true beauty of translation lies not within the words, but is held deep inside the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that those words try to convey.

And that, friends, is where the fun comes in! Most anime fans I have talked to seem to think that accuracy in translations is most important. Of course, we do not want to put words in the original author's mouth, but by aiming solely to translate word for word, the accuracy of those original thoughts behind the words begins to become skewed. By 'localizing' a translation into a different culture, you can better convey those feelings the author originally intended to portray.



Just for fun, I take this idea one step further and try to harmonize a song to a specific anime character. It's a little more complicated with matching voices and personalities, but it's quite fun when you have the time.

IKEA! Let's build a cabinet!

Five years ago, if someone would have said, "Let's go to IKEA!" I would have laughed. It is not that I did not like home improvement and decor, but I had always felt that IKEA was just toy furniture and needed to be assembled similar to a plastic model kit.


Now that over half of my furniture comes from IKEA it doesn't seem so funny anymore. So what would an Otaku~ish person find interesting at IKEA? Bookcases and display cases obviously!
Work in progress
I just recently purchased this case and am currently playing with different light set-ups

To make your own case, this is what you will need:

• a Detolf display case

• Furniture lighting, Grundtal 3 pack (I am using nickel-plated)

• 3M Double-sided mounting tape, usually used for things like mirrors (you can use screws to mount the lights, but when you want to rearrange them it will leave holes)
  

• Mini-clippable spotlights (sadly, I have not found ones I like yet, IKEA does offer a few book case lights, but I don't like them, I will be trying some over the next few weeks)
  

Remember, lights get hot! Be sure not to cover up their air vent holes and don't put them too close to your figures! To be safe, don't leave the lights on when you are not viewing the case. Always keep figures out of direct sunlight! To help hide electrical cords you can buy plastic shrink wrap tubing, I believe at IKEA it is called Montera.

No, this is not my whole collection. Hopefully, over the next few weeks I'll get the lighting squared away and post pics of the complete case. Please post any suggestions on lighting or background displays! I still have not decided if I should just leave the back of the case clear or to cover it up.

Shugo Chara episode 56 review

The power behind the throne.

The long anticipated return of the former Queen has finally arrived. But just as you guessed, there is only one spot to fill so fate has dealt her cards.



Yet, life goes on.

So what if the girl you fantasized about once in a while turned out to be a boy? Naw, you are probably still straight. Maybe a little confused, but that's Ok.



The truth hurts.

Tell one small white lie and the next comes right along. But where would the fun be in stopping here? I did not forsee the Jack and the Queen facing off from the start with a charade battle, but there is loads of potential for fun ahead.

What do I think about group Character transformations? There must be an anime convention nearby. Shugo Chara doki does have some interesting stories underneath but the show has been watered-down to your random enemy of the week that getting through all the dilution makes it pretty tough to swallow. Stick with the comic book. However, you can bet I'll peek at all the future Nadeshiko episodes as they come around ;)
Will a Rima and Nagihiko pairing surface? At the very least, maybe some slapping action will come about!